Meet the Gallinippers: Huge Mosquitoes Spotted in Florida

by Douglas Main | June 13, 2013 09:45am ET

The size difference between an invasive Asian tiger mosquito, right, and the native species Psorophora ciliata, sometimes called the gallinipper. Gallinippers are about 20 times larger than most common mosquitoes.Credit: Marisol Amador/UF/IFAS

Enormous mosquitoes known as gallinippers (or Psorophora ciliata) have been spotted in Florida, according to WKMG, a CBS affiliate. The insects are about 20 times larger than most common mosquitoes. The sighting comes after a warning by the University of Florida that there could be a bumper crop of these mosquitoes this summer.

Gallinippers can grow to the size a quarter and have painful stings, which can feel "like you're being stabbed," Anthony Pelaez of Tampa's Museum of Science and Industry told Fox Orlando earlier this year. The huge insects are known to be aggressive and feed both day and night; most mosquitoes aren't active during the day.

The gallinippers depend on heavy rains and were nourished by last year's downpour from Tropical Storm Debby. Continued rainfall, like that from Tropical Storm Andrea, will likely cause a spike in all mosquitoes this summer, Kelly Deutsch, the director of Seminole County Mosquito Control, told WKMG.

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Douglas Main

Douglas Main loves the weird and wonderful world of science, digging into amazing Planet Earth discoveries and wacky animal findings (from marsupials mating themselves to death to zombie worms to tear-drinking butterflies) for Live Science. Follow Doug on Google+.